The Modest Beauty
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: I'm not pretty." "I'm not sweet." This is what she always told herself, what she always believed. But a chance encounter with a certain blond changes everything. Narutox Fem Kakuzu. Fluffy goodness galore!


**Takes place in shipudden. The akatsuki do not yet know naruto is the nine tailed jinchuuriki. Naruto and Kakuzu are 17 at this time.**

Kakuzu's POV

I laid in my shared bed and stared up at the ceiling. My partner, Hidan, was sleeping soundlessly next to me. Occasionally he would utter a few small words like _Cookies... _or_ Chocolate... _He usually mutters something sweet and pretty. This is why I know, for a fact, that my name would never be muttered from that jashinist's mouth. The truth is, I'm not sweet, and I'm not pretty. I'm the complete opposite of this dork snuggled up in blankets that smell of blood, and fabric softener.

We haven't had a mission in awhile.

In fact, Leader-san told all of us to take a month of R-N-R.

The only stipulation was that we _had_ to leave our cell phones on and charged at all times, so we could maintan contact with each other.

Kami, it feels like we're all little kids sometimes.

Unfortunately, this has given me time to think about things other than money, something I do not often attempt.

Everyone wants a handsome man, or a cute princess. I have black replacing the whites in my eye, I have a lust for money, I have five hearts, Stitches flow across my body, and I have the _messiest_ black hair. Of course I'm never going to admit that I _like_ this jackass, because...I'm not...I actually don't even know why I'm thinking of him.

Not Hidan of course.

Someone else.

I need to get this thought out of my mind.

I should just go count some money-

No, I think I'll just go for a walk....

But still, this solitary thought plagues me.

"I'm not sweet...

"I'm...not pretty...

--

(Konoha)

"One miso ramen please!" Called Naruto upon entering Ichiraku Ramen, pulling aside the curtain to enter.

As usual, he preceded to his customary seat-

Only to find it taken this time, by an individual cloaked in all black, with messy black hair billowing over their shoulders.

From here, he couldn't tell their gender, thanks to that black bulky clothing.

His face crinkled in annoyance, and he considered the possibility of just shoving the patron out of _his_ seat...

Until he noticed something.

Whoever it was...

Seemed to be _crying._

Curiosity replacing indignation, he approached the newcomer, and sat on the stool nearest to them.

Only then did he realized that he hadn't thought of what to say.

As usual.

"Um...

The newcomer looked at him, turning slightly.

With his sensitive hearing, he could tell that she said something.

"What do you want with me, boy?"

He was then able to determine that she was a girl, as her tone was too soft, and the way her build was so slim and slender, to be that of a boy.

He was aware that she wore a mask, just like Kakashi's, as it covered the lower half of her face.

"Leave me alone." She whispered quietly.

But now it was her comment that _annoyed_ him.

"Eh?! I didn't do anything-

"Here's your order!" Called old man Teuchi as he set the bowl of ramen down before the blond.

Immediately, he was distracted.

"Alright!"

With a grin, he broke apart his chopsticks, clearly prepared to dig in.

"Time to dig in-

"How much did that cost?" She half murmurred half whispered all of a sudden, her words catching his attention, as they were the only two costumers here and the moment.

"About twenty-five yen." He remarked, having memorized the prices by heart, from coming here so often, and knowing when it was cheaper to eat here, and on what days the prices went up.

A small gasp.

"O-Only twenty five yen?!"

He paused to think.

"But its friday, so I think its half off today, and the pork is free.."

"Huh?" She was now staring at him intently, and her green eyes seemed to be filled with life, a spark that had not been there a second ago.

"H-Half off? W-With free pork?"

Naruto nodded, as he began to dig in.

"Yup!"

Kakuzu spoke seconds later.

"Two Miso ramens with extra pork please."

"Coming right up!"

Naruto finished his bowl seconds later, and held it out.

"Another please!"

Ayame, the daughter of Teuchi, nodded and took his bowl back.

This left the two with nothing to do other than wait.

Silently, Naruto took note of the girl.

She had what looked like stiches upon her arms, but other than that, her skin appeared to be flawless, without the slightest blemish, as easily seen by the smoothy creamy skin of her face.

Strange...

He didn't remember seeing her around her before.

Green eyes ran over him as well.

_'He's cute.' _She found herself thinking, before the reality from her train of thought slapped her in the face.

She seemed to fidget before speaking, twirling one hand in her unruly black hair as she did so...

"Um...the name's Kakuzu."

He frowned.

"Meh, that's too hard to remember. How about I call you Ka-chan?"

At this, her face reddened.

Surprisingly, he extended his hand.

"Naruto Uzumaki!"

She looked at his hand in confusion.

The blond sweatdropped.

"Erm...You're supposed to shake."

She blinked.

"Oh!"

Slowly, she took his hand in hers, and they shook.

Both were aware of something in that brief moment, the one solitary second, other than the fact that their palms seemed to clasp perfectly in one another's. (Wink)

Naruto: _'Her hand....It's cold..._

Kakuzu: _'He's...warm...._

The sound of the ramen bowls clattering down upon the countertop, it jerked them from the moment, and back into the present.

"Order up!"

"Um...I guess I should let go now?" He stammered, and she managed a nod.

"Y-Yes."

And with that they began to eat.

Naruto ate his ramen at the same rapid pace as before, slurping down the steamy noodles at a rapid pace, done in nearly _half_ the time as before.

Kakuzu however, _savored_ her ramen. She had spent cash on this food, and she wanted to get her money's worth, by savoring the pasta.

But the moment she placed the noodles in her mouth.

_'H-Hot!'_

She managed to swallow, but now steam was coming out of her ears. Tears welled in her eyes. It so _hot_, so _spicy!_ She hadn't even given it a second to cool, and unlike Naruto, who ate it everyday, she did not have any sort of resistance to the heat of the pasta.

In other words...

Wincing, she dropped the chopsticks, and covered her mouth.

"HOT!" She yelped, in a rare lapse of character, causing Naruto to look at her with concern. He soon realized the cause for her distress, as she flailed her arms about her mouth, trying to dissipate the steam that was coming out.

"Ack! I forgot! When your order it with pork it's extra hot! You have to _blow_ on it first!"

He leaned across her, and demonstrated, lightly pushing air out onto it, rippling the soup like noodles as he did so.

"See? Like this."

She whimpered as she was able to feel her tongue again.

Strangely enough, she felt her eyes dart to his lips.

She blushed at the close proximity.

"Ow...I'll have to remember that one."

"...Yeah." He murmurred, as his gaze flickered up to her.

"Aw!"

Ayame's voice jarred them out of their stupor, as did the fact that she was now speaking to them both.

They jerked back as if they had been _burned._

"Ka-chan, you should really try the beauty pagent we're hosting here!"

"Ayame-chan say what?!" Sputtered Naruto, whilst Kakuzu herself was too flustered to even consider speaking at this point.

Too bad, as in that moment, Ayame made if official, by signing her name on the roster, and yanking it out of Naruto's grasp before he could snatch it back for his new friend.

"It's decided then!"

"Wha-HEY!"

"Um...Okay." Kakuzu murmurred, and Naruto stared at her as if she had two heads.

"Nani? You really wanna try this kinda thing?"

A modest nod, but inside she was so nervous she could faint.

"Yes. After all, if its free then I might as well try it...

Ayame giggled and clapped her hands.

"Allright then! Let's make you beautiful!"

Naruto groaned.

"What did I do to deserve this?"


End file.
